The White Cliffs of Malta...a symbol of home? Barren and no bluebirds here, so perhaps

I love Malta, my homeland. Yet I often find myself critical of it. Maybe because I feel that my country’s small size means it has the potential to be an environmental showcase. Maybe too because I feel we are such a nation of procrastinators, that we are quite happy to let things degenerate and then spend time finger pointing.

A friend of mine once told me that Malta was a great country to come up with world changing ideas – the UN Law of the sea, for one. Yet if Malta were to be trusted to implement and coordinate these ideas they would likely die on the drawing board.

The fact that we were one of the last countries to ratify that charter, which included the creation of marine protected areas (MPA), which we still dream about, and the statement that the sea is the common heritage of all mankind, may bare testimony to my friend’s opinion.

So here I am again in Bavaria as I write. This time in resplendent, verdant summer and amazed to see it’s even greener than it was in winter.

Being here always makes me feel sad for my country, and not solely because I miss Malta, but because I look at the environmental policies here and feel humbled by them, their scope and aims. I am a son of Malta, a culturally rich country, with a unique natural environment with some 300 endemic plant species, many of which, incidentally, are under threat of extinction. But I worry about Malta as a country that has absolutely no idea how to manage nor what to do with its rich heritage.

One of the things that strikes me here in Bavaria is that in most urban developments, they consider green living areas. Gardens or trees are everywhere; children are actually playing in green areas, among trees and not on tarmac or concrete.

Blocks of apartments are put up in really fast time, AFTER consultation with ALL the neighbours and adhere to some form of aesthetic standards. Where we would build on the entire footprint, here they sacrifice some of the space to ensure the block of flats has some form of garden or green area.

I see constant reminders of the fact that it is legislative requirement for built areas to contain a certain amount of green space and also for planners to create a certain number of children’s playgrounds for a given number of apartments built.

Recently, I have noticed that many of the flat roofs have actually soft landscaped gardening. Looking from the 5th floor of the hospital where I visited a friend, I noticed that all the flat space on the roof is green with wild grass and flowering plants.

In fact, not too different from the weeds and plants our councils and government are so keen to eradicate along many of our roads and country lanes .

I started to visualise how fantastic Malta would look if our flat roofs became soft landscaped gardens, (soft as opposed to potted plants), and think about the environmentally-friendly insulation these would give us during our hot or cold seasons.

The hospital here too is an oasis of green with trees, grass and flowers everywhere. Here too I cannot but help imagine how we ended up with a bleak and barren landscaped hospital which houses the very people who may need to have spirits lifted by a pleasant environment but who are greeted instead by tarmac, concrete and rocks.

Only a couple of hundred meters away we have the Wied Gollieqa conservation area in the valley between San Gwann and the hospital. But instead of trying to at least blend to some extent the landscaping of the hospital area with its adjacent nature we go way off in the opposite direction and build a modern hospital without any natural environmental considerations. These environmental considerations include not only the lack of greenery but also its planning without consideration of renewable energy.

Often when articles like this appear in our papers we read vitriolic and intolerant statements such as “if you don’t like it then leave”, or “don’t visit Malta”. Or one is accused of being “unpatriotic”

Well, the fact is that I am Maltese and live in the country. The fact that I criticise my homeland does not make me less patriotic. My criticism comes from a love of it and the knowledge that we can be better and should aspire to all those high-minded, but often simply implemented ideals that can change the environmental face of my homeland.

Photo: courtesy Leslie Vella

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There's nothing like home sweet home for a BBQ!

It’s a Sunday evening in early July as I write this, which is an appropriate moment to tackle that great Maltese seasonal institution – a large, loud gathering of family and friends out for a beach BBQ.

Tomorrow morning, many a Maltese beach will bear the signs of this weekend’s nighttime invasion – litter, spent charcoal, chicken wings and detritus of all kinds will be left behind. While some litter, there are others who spend hours doing voluntary beach tidy-ups. It’s a never ending cycle of litter, tidy, litter… but perhaps we’ve reached the tipping point, or nearly.

The Beach BBQ’s Environmental Impact
Of course, it’s not solely the beach BBQ that contributes to beach littering, but here’s an anecdote on its polluting effect which isn’t all about litter.

A couple of hot July’s ago, I went out for an expensive, splash-out meal at a restaurant right next to a small bay. The establishment suggests guests arrive to catch the sunset views from the al fresco dining area. We did. And that was about the best bit of the evening, and the meal. I won’t do a hatchet job on the meal (which it deserved), but the evocative sundown drink was spoiled within around five minutes of our arrival by the chugging into action of a generator and the waft of petrol, followed by floodlights, shouting and general mayhem. The beach BBQ was in full swing.

Now, I like the idea of a beach BBQ, and went on a couple in the past. But we were responsible enough to keep noise to a minimum. The people I was with enjoyed chilling out in the mellow heat and listening to the waves, not music or generators and scoured their patch of beach meticulously using torches to ensure not a scrap of litter was left. If all nighttime BBQ-goers did this, then there’d be no need to…

Ban the Beach BBQ
Mellieha Local Council used by-laws to ban the BBQ last summer from Ghadira Bay, to some uproar. Some quarters saw it as another attack on popular ‘cultural’ pastimes. Not that the beach BBQ can be compared with the Ghanafest.

Ghadira Bay has a nature reserve behind it and is aiming for Blue Flag status as a beach with outstanding environmental and safety credentials. While the Blue Flag criteria don’t stipulate a ban on BBQs, Blue Flag status and barbecuing don’t sit happily together; the pollution the beach BBQ produces in Malta would make attaining and retaining Blue Flag status nearly impossible.

Two beaches in Malta now have the Blue Flag – Bugibba (this year) and St George’s Bay (awarded last year). Interestingly, both are ‘new’, man-made beaches and in built-up areas popular with tourists. They have no local tradition of BBQs.

Yet, the more rural, beauty spot beaches, which should have greater potential to reach Blue Flag standards aren’t yet quality enough; the BBQ culture must have something to do with that.

Conspicously, today, I noticed a row of temporary info boards on Golden Bay beach explaining Blue Flag and the local sealife and fauna and flora. The Malta Tourism Authority’s info boards nearby, also a new addition this year, clearly said BBQs were not allowed, neither was camping.

So, plans are afoot to make more of Malta’s beaches BBQ free in pursuit of that elusive Blue Flag status no doubt. I love the idea of footloose and fancy-free summer nights on the beach with a Barbie as much as the next man. But given our islands’ limited beach space, masses of beach goers and our enduring lack of self-discipline, the BBQ must stay at home. About time.

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Laid bare for all to see - millions of years of squashed sea molluscs

Malta is entirely composed of sedimentary rocks. This means that the geology of the islands is made of the compacted sediments of rocks deposited in a constantly changing Mediterranean over millions of years.

Effectively, all of the land comprising Maltese territory was formed underwater through the slow but steady layering of sediments of particles settling underwater. As is to be expected when viewing a series of layers, the ones at the bottom are the oldest with age gradually decreasing as one approaches the topmost layer. In the case of the Maltese rock layers, the oldest sediments of lower coralline limestone were deposited in the Mediterranean Sea around 35 million years ago while the most recent layers of upper coralline limestone were only formed a mere 7 million years ago.

Although in human terms these timeframes seem immense, the young age of Maltese rocks is placed into perspective when considering that the extinction of the dinosaurs took place 65.5 million years ago. This means that when the lower layers of rock comprising our archipelago were being laid, the dinosaurs had already been extinct for more than 30 million years.

The Maltese rock layers are neatly subdivided into five distinct types, starting from the bottom as follows:

• Lower Coralline Limestone
• Globigerina Limestone
• Blue Clay
• Greensand
• Upper Coralline Limestone

Both Coralline Limestones were formed in shallow waters and comprise the skeletal remains of algae, corals and molluscs. The Globigerina Limestone, source of Malta’s honey coloured stone used for construction was formed at a period when the sea became deeper and is mostly made of the microscopic remains of a single-celled animal called globigerina.

Lying above the globigerina layer, the blue clay layer originated on land, probably in Italy and was deposited as detritus from rivers draining water from the Italian landmass.

Following the period that led to the depositing of the blue clay in a relatively deep sea, a shallower period with strong surface currents led to the deposit of the greensand layer. In spite of the colour associated with its name, greensand is generally visible in those Maltese sandy beaches where there are clay slopes and where the sand has a reddish hue. Beaches such as Ghajn Tuffieha, Gnejna and Imgiebah in Malta and Ramla l-Hamra and San Blas in Gozo all feature reddish sand that has found its way into the sea by sliding off the clay slopes surrounding these beaches. With respect to colours: the chemicals comprising greensand turn red when exposed to the air through the process of oxidisation!

This short description is aimed at helping readers acquire a basic understanding of the geology of Malta. It is important to appreciate the marine origin of these islands, together with the fact that the very rock on which we stand is made of the remains of billions upon billions of dead marine creatures that were deposited at the bottom of the sea over a process spanning millions of years.

It also helps explain why Malta lacks natural resources such as metals and why our fossils generally comprise marine organisms rather than land animals or plants.

At a time when the impact of carbon-induced climate change is universally recognised, it is also relevant to ponder upon the fact that the entire landmass of the Maltese islands is comprised of carbonate rock implying that all the landmass we take so for granted consists of captured carbon dioxide which would otherwise have remained in the Earth’s atmosphere to the detriment of life as we know it!

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An offer you can't refuse at the MCAST Open Weekend. But please don't bring a horse!

Maybe it’s because we’re all more aware of food miles and environmental issues these days, but agri-businesses of various hues, such as agri-tourism, have become increasingly popular among the Maltese as well as visitors to the islands seeking a more ‘authentic’ Malta experience. It might also be a knee-jerk reaction to our growing urban reality here.

Although Malta today has only around 3% of its population involved in the agriculture sector, the whole area is becoming quite ‘of the moment’. This spring alone we’ve posted on several fairs – Strawberry Fair in Mgarr; the Dingli (goat and sheep fest) in April; and soon we’ve the Siggiewi Rural Evening and Agricultural Fair (June 12-13). Here, Jeanette Borg, a lecturer at MCAST (Malta’s technical training college) talks about this coming weekend’s open days at its Institute of Agribusiness. It’s quite a family affair and certainly something worthwhile to visit with the kids over the weekend. It will also give prospective students a good insight into the courses on offer at the Agribusiness Institute.

MCAST Institute of Agribusiness
“Making the Change”

Agriculture is one of the most ancient industries that lead to the civilisation of mankind. It is through food production that populations grew and became wealthy. Malta is no exception. Until a few years ago, most of the Maltese people worked in the agricultural industry as farmers or herdsmen. It is only in the past few decades that other industries started absorbing the workforce.

Education is a crucial part for the way forward in all industries and this also applies to Agriculture. At the MCAST Institute of Agribusiness, education of agribusiness students is our main aim. At present the Institute of Agribusiness within MCAST has around a hundred full-time students and many other part-timers.

The institute is located in Qormi and surrounded with around one hectare of land. Olive and fruit trees together with a variety of vegetable crops occupy the fields in which the students put into practice the theory learnt in class. Rabbit and poultry units are also an important part of the institute as is the pets’ area where the students practice animal management and pet care. The conservation of biodiversity is another topic practised at the institute which is helping propagate and breed several local species – such as several endemic plants as well as Black Maltese chickens, a local breed facing extinction and which is being reared to conserve Maltese identity and genetic diversity.

To create awareness of this interesting and scientific sector, the Institute is holding an Open Weekend from 28th to 30th May, 2010. There will be an exhibition about the various topics taught at the Institute as well as tours around the fields and animal units. The weekend is for everyone who has nature, animal care, floriculture and the cultivation of crops at heart, especially prospective students interested in a challenging and satisfying career.

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Sun power: It's only just dawning on Malta

This has to be one of our most info-rich articles here at Malta Inside Out, thanks to Charles Yousif of the Institute of Sustainable Energies at the University of Malta who is also Secretary General of the Malta Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energies Association. Charles’s clear information should help answer many householders questions on the whys and wherefores of installing a solar water heater, and more. There’s a lot of options on the market, and a lot of word-of-mouth advice around. Here are some facts.

The good old geezer

Q. How much energy does an electric boiler consume?
A: It depends on the use, the temperature and the number of people in the household. In general, 4 people consume between 3 or 4 kWh every day, at least for 9 months i.e. a total of between 800 and 1,000 kWh/year, assuming no losses. So, a geezer could account for around 20% of your electricity bill.

Q. What do you mean “assuming no losses”?
A: If you leave the geezer on all the time and the only control is its thermostat, then you will have heat losses from the hot boiler to the air surrounding it. These could account for an added 20-30% extra power.

Q. Geezers are normally insulated, so how come there are losses?
A: The insulation is generally very thin and inadequate. In addition, there are areas at the bottom where the electric element is connected which are not insulated and they are a source of heat loss too.

Q. Do you mean that one would save if the geezer is switched on only when needed?
A: Definitely. Using a timer could also help to reduce the hassle of switching it on and off.

Now to Solar Water Heaters

Q. If I install a solar heater, would it save on my energy bill?
A: Yes, provided that it is installed properly and sized properly.

Q. What are the important points about installing a solar heater properly?
A: There are 4 important aspects:
1) For domestic use, when the home owner will use hot water between September and May, the ideal inclination angle of the panel should be between 45 and 55 degrees to the horizontal.
2) The panel should be facing south.
3) The hot water delivery pipes should be well insulated and the insulation well protected from UV radiation and sealed at the edges to stop rain water from seeping in.
4) Last but not least, the amount of water in the hot water storage tank should be proportionate to the area of the solar panel. For a flat-plate collector, the ratio should be 50-60 litres per square metre of collector. For an evacuated-tube system, the ratio should be 80-90 litres per square-metre of cross-sectional area of the vacuum tubes.

Q. This is complicated: Can you give an example?
A: A typical 200 litre hot water system should have 4 square metres of solar flat-plate panels or 2.5 sqaure metres of cross-sectional area of vacuum tubes

Q. So does this mean that a vacuum tube collector is better than a flat-plate collector?
As long as you keep to the above 4 rules, both systems should give you more or less the same output.

Q. But people say that vacuum tubes work better in winter because they absorb the UV radiation.
A:The UV radiation is available on sunny days be it in winter or in summer. On cloudy days, the UV radiation is very low. Therefore, this statement is untrue.

Q. But experience shows that people who have evacuated tubes fair better in winter.
A: This may be true because normally flat-plate systems are under-sized for the needs of the family and tend to suffer in winter. On the other hand, evacuated tube system could dangerously over-heat in summer. The conclusion is that Malta has over 300 sunny days a year and both systems should work properly on most days. Sometimes, the problem would also come from the user because as time passes by they either start connecting the solar system to other parts of the house or the family increases in number and they don’t realise that they need more hot water, which the solar system cannot provide alone, having been designed originally for lower demand.

Q. What do you suggest for a normal houshold – a gas heater or a solar heater?
A: Gas is a fuel and pollutes the environment. It has to be bought and its price may change in the future. Solar heating uses free energy and provides a relaible and clean source of energy.

Heat Pump Water Heaters

Q. But some households have no roofs, so how can they install a solar heater?
A: That is a problem and MEPA, so far, does not allow installation of solar heaters on the facade. There are heat pump water heaters, which could save energy too. This is simply an air-conditioning unit that heats water instead of heating air. it saves around 60% of the electricity consumed by a geezer. This should be supported by Government because a heat pump has been accepted by the European Commission as an electric component that may contribute to renewable energy

Q. What do you mean? A heat pump needs electricity to operate the compressor, so how can it generate renewable energy?
The heat pump absorbs energy from the air which is renewable energy and passes it to the water to heat it up. If the energy absorbed in the water is more than the energy used by Enemalta to generate electricity to drive the heat pump compressor, then the difference between these two values is actually a contribution to renewable energy.

Q. Are these heat pumps available in the market?
Yes. One has to aim to buy a high efficiency heat pump with a COP of 3 or above. However, the prices are still relatively high due to the small market in Malta.

Further Information
The Institute for Sustainable Energies offers a technical inspection of installed, domestic, solar water heaters. For an appointment, call Eur. Ing. Charles Yousif on 2165 0675. See the Institute’s site for details too.

Malta Resources Authority (MRA) operates government’s support schemes including subsidies for first-time installation of domestic solar water heaters as well as schemes for photovoltaic panels.

Photo: Courtesy of Peter Grima, Know Malta

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Lavender flowers early in Malta, so sniff it out while you can

I wish it could be forever spring in Malta. It’s the season to be joyful as everything interesting and perfumed is in bloom right now from citrus and honeysuckle to lavenders. Not so in the dusty days of searing summer when bulbs hibernate, browned seed heads wave in the wind and gardens sport garish bougainvillea.

Flower of the month for me in April is lavender. It’s been at near perfection over the past few days – not quite in full flower, so still with the promise of an even deeper purply-blue haze to come. My four established bushes are a hive of industry, covered in bees. I wish I knew which hive they came from as lavender honey sounds tasty.

Lavender is not a wild flower on the Maltese Islands unlike in the maquis areas of France and macchia of Italy. At least, I’ve never come across it here on my many cycle rides and walks; nor for that matter its Mediterranean scrubland neighbour, rosemary. But you will find it in corners of public gardens, some front yards and even cropping up in a roundabout here and there. When you can, pause to take it in. Brush against it to release its scent – from leaves, not just flowers. It’s not an old ladies’ scent at all; it’s the ultimate heady Mediterranean scent.

You will find it in garden centres at the moment, but if you haven’t a plot of earth, you may find keeping it in a pot a disappointment. It can do fine, but will need a deep pot as its roots, in the wild, are used to digging deep to seek water. It can die off almost overnight, wilting inexplicably (or perhaps from ants in the pot). Potted lavender is tricky as it needs some water, but not too much. If you haven’t green fingers, then make the most of the few plants you find around. Sniff them out!

A note for gardeners
French ’stoechas’ lavenders, as in the photo, are rare in garden centres here. You’ll find regular lavandula augustifolia, but if you want these tufted ones, you may have to ask the centre to order them in, but for next year now as it’s almost too late to plant up before heat hits!

Photo: Robert Crouse-Baker

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